Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-07-16

tain more information from that marvel.
gus woman 40 was snsI How did she
nTst come To the caves Of kor, &nd what
was her real reiigioni We never asser.
tanned, and now, ALAS! we never shall, q,
least not yet. These and many other qles.
lions arise III my mind; but what is the
good OF ashlnG them now
VIII You undertake the task? We give
you complete freedom, and as u rcwar
you VIII certainly have the credit OF giving
10 The world the most wonderful history,
rs distinguished from romance, that It's
records can show. Read the manuscript
(Which | nave copied out fairly for your
b~eneftD, and let me know.
believe me, very truly yours,
l.. HORACE HOLLY.
Up. S.:-Of course ii any profit results
from the sale OF the wriCing, should you
care To undertake it, you can do what you
like with IL, but If there IS q loss, | will
leave Instructions with my lawyers, Messrs.
GeoliIey ~ Jordan, 10 meet 1t. We lntrust
the sherd, the scarab, and the parchment
to your Keeping till such time rs we demand
them back again. l.. III, H.n
This letter, as may be imagiaed, aston.
ished me considerably, but when | came to
look at the MS, which the pressure Of
other work prevented me from doing for q
fortnight, | was still more astunished, as ]
think the reader will be also, and at once
made up my mind to press on with the
matter. ] wrote TO this effect to Mr.. Holly,
but = week afterward received a letter
from hat gentleman's lawyers, returning
my own, with the information that their
client and Mr.. Leo Nincey had already left
this country for Thibet, and they did not
at present know their address.
Well, that is all | nave To say. OF the
hiStnry itSalt tina ran1ar yn,pt ;,ino
give it him, with the exception of a yer,
few alterations, made with the object OF
concealing the identity of the actors fror,
the general public, exactly as it has come
to me. Personally | nave made up my
mind Ia refrain from comments. At first
! was inclined to believe that this history
OF a woman on whom, clothed in the males
ty Of her almost endless years, tn" shadow
of Eternity itself lay like the dark wing OF
Night, was some gigantic allegory Of which
| could not catch the meaning. Then I
thought that 1t might be a bold attempt to
portray the possible results Of immortality
grated on the substance of a mortal who
yet drew her strength from the earth, and
in whose human bosom passions yet rose
and fell and beat as in the undying world
around her the winds and the tides rise
and fall and beat increasingly. But as |
went OF | abandoned that idea also. To
me the story seems TO bear the stamp of
truth upon its face. ITS explanation l
must leave To others: and with this slight
preface, which circumstances make neces-
sary, ] Introduce the world To Ayesha and
the Caves Of kor. THE EDITOR.
p. S.-Therc is on consideration one cir
cumstancc that, after a reperusal OF this
history, struck me with so much force that
| can not resist calling the attention of the
reader To it.. He will observe that, SO far
as we are made acquainted with him, there
is nothing in the character Of Leo Nincey
which, in the opinion Of most people, would
have been likely TO attract an intellect so
powerful rs that Of Aycsha. He is not even,
at any rate TO my view particularly inter-
esting; indeed, one might have imagined
that Mr.. Holly would, under ordinary cir
cumstances, have easily outstripped him
in the favor of She. Can il be that eX-
tremes meet, and that the very excess and
splendor Of her mind led her, by means of
some strange physical reaction, to worship
at the shrine of matterp Was that ancient
kaliikrates nothing but q splendid animal,
beloved for his Greek beauty Or is the
true explanation what believe it to be,
namely, that Ayesha, seeing further than
we can see, perceived the germ and mol
dering spark Of greatness that lay hid
within her lovers soul, and well knew that
under the influence of her gift of life, wat
cred by her wisdom, and shone upon with
the sunshine of her presence, it would
bloom like a flower and fash out like a
star, filling the world with fragrance and
with light9
Here, also, I am not able to answer, but
must leave the reader to form his w
judgment on the materials before him..